Thomas Dongan,

(1634 – 1715)

Born at Castletown, in Kildare, the family was exiled to France where Thomas served in an Irish regiment and rose to the rank of colonel in 1674. Returning to a now more Catholic tolerant England in 1678 he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Tangiers. In 1682 the Duke of York selected Dongan to govern the Province of New York where he convened the first Representative Assembly, passing an act entitled A Charter of Liberties and Freedoms, marking the birth of popular government in America. He established courts of justice, the right of religious liberty and no taxation without representation. His dealings with the Five Nation Iroquois Tribes were exemplary, maintaining peace and trade and leading to the defeat of  French military intentions on the North American continent. In 1691 he returned to England where by the death of his brother William he became Earl of Limerick.

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